If you’ve watched each race this season, you probably know what we’re talking about. It’s not aero, it’s not horsepower, it’s not even the drivers. Early on in the Cook Out 400 broadcast, the team pointed out something disturbing. Ryan Blaney’s pit crew has cost him more spots on pit road than entries into the races.

Unlike his two Team Penske teammates, Blaney has been bad fast thus far this season. Even with multiple loose wheels and lost spots, he still won at Phoenix. Second in the standings, so imagine the performance that team could have without the issues. NASCAR Insights pointed out on the broadcast that they had lost 75 spots. They’re the No. 35-ranked crew on Pit Road.

In Martinsville, Denny Hamlin absolutely dominated the race, but a potential pit road issue may have cost him the win. Denny Hamlin stated on his Actions Detromental podcast that he had a loose wheel after the final trip to pit road. With only a few laps to go and a decent spot on the restart, Denny chose to stay out and battle for the win. Per Hamlin, the loose wheel would not respond to the throttle needed to push the car out of and through the corners. Thus, a pit road mistake cost him a chance.

On the other end of the spectrum, Chase Elliott was not winning Martinsville. He had a top 10 car without question. 9th-best average running position at 9.02; he’s not winning this race. For example, Denny’s average position was 1.34. But the race was won on Pit Road.

Alan Gustafson made a Hail Mary call to get Chase way off of the normal pit strategy by pitting way too early. But a perfectly timed caution (on Pit Road of all places) changed everything. On the restart, Chase would be the lead car on new tires and made the easy pass over Ross Chastain to keep a hard-charging Denny Hamlin behind him to score his second win at Martinsville.

The Cold Hard Truth About a Title

A 2-second mistake can easily take a dominant race car and put it deep in dirty air and deep into the top 10, or worse. It can take a race winner and make them irrelevant.

Denny Hamlin was well on his way to the 2019 Cup Series Championship, but a massive piece of tape over the grill caused his No. 11 Camry to overheat, and he had to make his way back down pit road. In 2014, Joey Logano had a decent shot to compete for the first-ever playoff title, but the jack fell on pit road, completely derailing any chance.

Speed and driver ability are important, but clean execution on pit road could very well help determine the championship.

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